50+ Lifestyles

Field of Health Care Leads Job Growth Across All Industries

By Hilary Henke
Student Services Coordinator
Kaplan University School of Nursing

Health care is experiencing unprecedented growth. Over 2.3 million new health care jobs are expected between 2014 and 2024—more than any other industry. That means 1 in 4 new jobs will be in nursing and health care. Here’s a look at how the industry is evolving.

Several factors will contribute to an almost inevitable growth in the field:

1.  The U.S. population will grow to approximately 359.4 million by 2030.

2. The number of people 65+ is expected to nearly double from 2014 to 2024.

3.  As of 2012, about half of all adults had one or more chronic health conditions—additional professionals will be needed to prevent, manage, and treat these.

4.  Improvements in technology and medicine mean more jobs for workers who have the skills to provide related health services.

5.  With health care reform, more people have coverage for basic and routine care.

6.  An acute physician shortage in the face of growing demand opens up job opportunities for nurses as well as physician and medical assistants.

There are promising opportunities for several professions as a result of these factors. Here’s a look at some of these
professions.

•  Medical assisting faces talent shortage in face of spiking demand. Medical assistant jobs are expected to grow 23% between 2014 and 2024, which is much faster than average.

•  Nursing remains one of the most high-growth occupations. Nursing is expected to be one of the fastest growing career areas from 2014 to 2024 and the growth spans across most types of health care settings.

Existing health care professionals may want to consider expanding their skillset to further take advantage of growth in the market.

Employment of medical and health services managers is expected to grow 17% between 2014 and 2024—much faster than average.  Most medical and health services managers have at least a bachelor’s degree before entering the field, however master’s degrees are common and sometimes preferred by employers.

For greater detail, read more on this subject at:  https://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/news-resources/growing-health-care-workforce/